


Ezra's Kalikori

by Dessa



Category: Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Fluffy fic, Gen, Happy Life Day, Late Feelstember Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-18
Updated: 2020-11-18
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:14:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27614003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dessa/pseuds/Dessa
Summary: Ezra wants to make something for the Ghost Crew after they took him in. It hits Hera harder than he expected.
Relationships: Ezra Bridger & Hera Syndulla, Ezra Bridger & The Ghost Crew
Comments: 3
Kudos: 46





	Ezra's Kalikori

**Author's Note:**

> Meant to post this on November 17, for Life Day (in my defense, it's still November 17 in my time zone!). It's been floating around in my head for a while.

Ezra sat down with the box of scrap metals he’d saved from building his lightsaber. He’d only been with the  _ Ghost _ crew for a few months, but they were already starting to feel like family. He wondered, sometimes, what his life would have been like if he’d met them earlier. Would he be as jaded as he is now? Would he be better at relying on others, instead of himself?

He shook his head. The past couldn’t be changed, and focusing on that now would just cause him to spiral. And spiraling wasn’t what he wanted. Pulling an arc welder out of his backpack, he started sorting through the various pieces he had. He wanted to do something for the crew, to show what they meant to him.

Sorting through the pieces, he came across a piece of grating. When he saw it, he instantly thought of Zeb and his space waffles. Digging through some more, he found another piece he could pair with it, giving the appearance of waffles. Taking the arc welder, he welded the two pieces together. Holding up the finished piece, he smiled. It really did look like Zeb’s waffles.

He looked at the piece, and an idea came to him. What if he could make something for each of them? He shook his head. No, what would they do with his stupid little trinkets? But he still thought he was on the right track.

What if he put them all together? Made some sort of totem for the crew as a whole? That… that just might work, actually. If he made something to represent each crew member, and put them together?

Okay, so, what would represent each person? He had Zeb and his waffle. So, who next? Sabine. What did he think of first when he thought of Sabine? Her armor, her helmet. But she was an artist, could he do anything justice that it wouldn’t insult her? Wait… art… what about one of her spray paint applicators? He dug around, finding a cylindrical piece he could use as a base. Finding other pieces to add on, he got to work, until he had a reasonable facsimile (albeit much smaller) to Sabine’s paint gun. That was two down.

Ezra thought about the painting Sabine had done, not long after he came onto the  _ Ghost _ , in he and Zeb’s cabin. The one of him falling onto Zeb, as his bunk gave way, because Chopper had removed the bolts. Stupid bucket of bolts. Wait. Bucket of bolts. Removed bolts. Perfect representation of Chopper. But he couldn’t cheat and just use a bolt. Instead, he rummaged until he found a coiled piece, that he put a cylinder inside of. That looked like the threads on a bolt. He welded them together, and added it to the small pile of finished pieces. Three down.

Kanan and Hera would be the hardest. It had been over 7 years since he’d had parents, and his memories of his were hazy at best. But the way they treated the rest of the crew, himself included… he had to think that this was something like what it would have been like, if he still had his. But what could he do to represent them?

Kanan  _ should _ be easy. There were so many options. His lightsaber, his pauldron, his holocron. But none of those felt right. Sure, they were things that represented Kanan, but not what he meant to  _ Ezra _ . It didn’t reflect the time that they spent together, with Kanan teaching him how to use the Force, how to use a lightsaber. How Ezra knew that Kanan was the only teacher for him, that he didn’t want anyone else. Even if Kanan’s methods were a bit rough around the edges. Okay, a  _ lot _ rough around the edges. Like when they were on top the  _ Ghost _ , and Chopper was hurling empty ration cartons at him… He smiled. One of those cartons. Kanan training him to be a Jedi. It would be perfect. He found flat pieces, and cobbled them together into a metal version of the ration carton. Four were done. One left.

And now for Hera. Hera was the crew’s rock, but he didn’t think that would be a good addition to his piece. He also didn’t trust his ability to make a bunch of broken pieces of things into anything remotely resembling a rock, either. When he thought about Hera, he thought of the  _ Ghost _ , of home, of safety. But the  _ Ghost _ was all of their home, and Hera was more than just the ship. She was their captain, their pilot. The  _ best _ pilot, in Ezra’s opinion, though he didn’t have much personal experience to compare. Maybe something that had to do with piloting? No, that still didn’t reflect how  _ he _ felt about her. He thought back, to that first mission, rescuing the Wookiees. Hera was the one who had encouraged him to open himself up, to think about someone other than himself. She completely changed how he thought of the galaxy, and without her, he didn’t know where he’d be. Certainly not here, not helping complete strangers, just because it was the right thing to do. Ezra got an idea, looking through the box for smooth pieces. Hera wasn’t their rock. She was their  _ heart _ . He carefully heated the pieces, curving them into the shapes he needed to create a heart. Fusing them together, he held up the completed trinket for Hera, and it just felt right.

Now, he had to figure out how to put these together. He looked at them. He had a waffle, a spray paint gun, a bolt, a carton, and a heart. The waffle was fairly flat, maybe he could use it as a base? And then put the heart at the center, because Hera was the center of the crew, holding them all together. Chopper’s bolt would have to be next to Hera, because that’s where he always was, at her side. If Zeb’s waffle was supporting everything, then Kanan and Sabine would be holding Hera up, too. So he arranged them behind the heart. Adjusting things until he was satisfied, he fused everything together, finishing the piece. Setting it down, he looked at it. It wasn’t cleanly done, and it was obviously cobbled together, but… that was their crew, too. It was perfect.

~~~~~

“Where is he, the grub’s getting cold!” Zeb complained, waiting in the common area for them to be able to start eating, which Hera insisted had to wait until everyone was present.

“He said he was coming, he has something to show us,” Kanan replied calmly. “But I thought he’d be here by now.”

As if on cue, the door to the common area opened, admitting the youngest member of their team, arms behind his back, hiding whatever it was he had brought with him. “Sorry I’m late,” he said, walking to the table. “But I wanted to finish this.” He brought his hands back in front of him, setting the piece he’d made in the center for everyone to see.

“You wanted to show us this hunk of junk?” Zeb said snidely. “And made us delay our dinner?”

“Zeb…” Kanan warned, but was interrupted by Sabine. “Wait… this looks like… my paint gun, right?” She pointed to the piece in question.

Zeb took a closer look. “Yeah, I think it might be.” He glanced at the base. “Is that… one of my waffles?”

Kanan looked from the piece to his Padawan. “What is this, Ezra?”

Ezra flushed slightly. “It’s a… well, I guess I’d say it’s kinda like a totem. Each piece represents a member of the crew. Sabine’s paint gun, Zeb’s waffles…” he trailed off.

“Weh wah wai, weh?” Chopper inserted, suddenly interested and shoving Ezra out of the way.

“What did he say?” Ezra asked, looking to Hera, who could always understand her errant droid. But when he saw her face, eyes welling up with tears, and met those eyes…

Hera suddenly got up from the table, leaving the room without a word. Ezra was confused, and looked to Kanan. “Kanan, what happened?”

Kanan shook his head. “I’m not entirely sure, kid. But you might want to go after her.” The boy nodded, and exited after the captain.

~~~~~

Once the door shut, Ezra closed his eyes, and listened. If he were Kanan, he’d probably use the Force to find Hera. But Ezra wasn’t that good yet. So he listened, and was rewarded with the sound of muffled cries, coming from Hera’s quarters. Cautiously, he knocked on the door. “Hera? Hera, it’s me. Ezra. Can I come in?”

Moments passed, until the door finally opened. Ezra could see Hera sitting on her bunk, wiping her face with her sleeve. Even with the obvious signs gone, her red-tinged eyes and tear trails down her face said what had happened.

Ezra took a couple steps toward her, then sank to the floor and lowered his head. “Hera, I’m sorry. If I shouldn’t have used the scraps, or whatever else I did wrong… I didn’t mean to upset you, and I promise if you tell me what I did I won’t do it again.”

“Ezra…” Ezra was surprised to find Hera’s arms wrapping around him, her lekku brushing the side of his face as she rested her head over his shoulder. “You didn’t do anything wrong. I just… it’s old memories.”

“Memories?” he asked.

Hera nodded, him feeling more than seeing the motion. “On Ryloth, there’s a tradition. A totem that’s passed down through families. Each generation adds to the piece, representing the family members of that generation.” She leaned back, placing her hands on his shoulders, and looking straight at him. “I haven’t seen my family’s kalikori since I left Ryloth. When I saw what you made… all those memories came rushing back.”

She smiled at him. “But I’m grateful to you, for doing this. It’s a beautiful tribute to the crew.” She paused, and looked at him sternly. “But the piece is obviously unfinished.”

Ezra blinked. “No it’s not. I put something in for each of you!”

Hera shook her head. “Ezra,  _ you _ are a part of this crew, now, too. You need something there to represent yourself, as well.”

Ezra smiled back at her. “I’ll have to get on that.”

She smiled, and stood up, offering him a hand up. “We’d better get back there, though, before Zeb eats our shares, too.” Ezra’s stomach replied for him, grumbling that it might not get its fill.

“Let’s go eat!”


End file.
